Whether it is a flood, storm, earthquake or man-made catastrophe; it can be as simple as an auto accident or fire affecting one person or family, or a major event that disrupts entire regions; but disaster always lurks around the corner.

And when it happens proper planning and training can make all the difference in the world for everybody, from government agencies to your and your next-door neighbor.

For individuals, that means being able to take care of yourself for a few days before aid can arrive. For local emergency planners, it means being ready for…

anything.

After 9/11 the federal government required local municipalities to incorporate the National Incident Management System into disaster plans. As part of this plan municipalities have emergency services directors or coordinators to guide disaster mitigation and relief efforts.

When something gets too big for them there is an ever-widening circle of aid and logistical support and coordination. It starts with the local emergency responders, then grows to include Madison County Emergency Management, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We refer to all the events as ‘they start local and they end local,’” said Alton Fire Chief and ESDA Director Bernie Sebold. “It doesn’t matter if we have federal resources in here assisting us, we have to take care of our citizens in the city of Alton, our business owners and our visitors.”

For the Riverbend area, when locals think of disaster the word “flood” usually comes to mind. In December the Mississippi River quickly overflowed its banks, causing major problems in downtown Alton, Grafton and other low-lying river areas, while stormwater caused its own flooding throughout the region. Then again in July heavy rains caused widespread stormwater flooding, especially in the Bethalto area.

“River flooding and flash flooding are totally different beasts,” said Mary Kate Brown, deputy director of Madison County Emergency Management. “It’s almost easier to deal with river flooding. This past December with all the flash flooding, that’s something you can’t predict. If it just keeps coming, it keeps coming.”

“The water did rapidly rise within a period of three days,” Sebold said. “We are more used to the floods that we have a week to prepare for, the water lingers for a week or two then recedes. This flood event that happened back in December was pretty much a six-day event.”

The storms that bring those floods can also create their own havoc, with winds and tornadoes throughout the spring and fall to ice storms in the winter.

Sebold noted that the actual river flood affected a very small area, and stormwater actually did more damage but didn’t get as much attention.

“The city of Alton is very well prepared when it is dealing with the Mississippi River flooding,” he said. “We have a comprehensive disaster plan that was developed several years ago, and is reviewed and possibly renewed on an annual basis.”

Another issue is all the heavy industry in the region.

From refineries and steel mills in the Alton-Wood River area to steel and chemical plants near Granite City, each different industry brings its own hazards.

“We do a lot of work with the local facilities and have contact with all of them,” Brown said. “They are pretty well prepared.”

The county also can field a 40-person hazardous material response team.

“We have a very good hazmat team that is well-trained,” Brown said. “They get deployed quite often.”

And while the plants themselves are always a concern, it is the materials coming to and from them on trucks, barges trains and through pipelines that is even more concerning.

“You have more unknowns when you are moving product down our highways, over our bridges and even by rail,” Sebold said.

He noted issues range from wind direction in the case of a chemical leak; to what would happen if chemicals combined, heated or cooled, or came into contact with water or other substances.

The county recently received a grant for a hazardous commodities flow study.

“(We are) bringing in a consulting firm and using volunteers to do truck counts,” Brown said. “We’re taking inventory of how much and what kinds of chemicals come through rail and road. All the stuff that’s passing through our county.”

They also plan for deliberate events, which can range from active shooters and civil unrest such as the incidents in Ferguson, Mo., to terrorism.

Brown noted that the county’s emergency response center was operating during the Ferguson riots.

“We were activated on the night when the (grand jury) ruling came out, just to be prepared because we weren’t sure things were going to happen in Madison County,” she said. “We had communications with the people in Missouri so we knew what was going on.”

In dealing with terrorism, because an incident may first be presented as a fire, explosion or other accident, one of the first issues can be determining if terrorism is involved.

“Any time we’re dispatched to an explosion, our personnel are trained to think about a secondary device,” Sebold said. “We have to.”

Regardless of what kind of incident it is, once it occurs and local officials decide it is too big for them, they start to call for help.

The second installment will look at how ESDA agencies work and coordinate activities, the third installment will examine personal preparedness.